Grocery shopping

[pretty_in_pink]

hi im back again! hey i have another question....it's kinda dumb but i wanted to get everyone's opinions and ideas on it......what do you usually get when you go grocery shopping? im making a list of stuff we need and im going tomorrow cause i have the day off, but i dont want to spend too much. ive heard of online groceries....are they really better, cheaper, or the same? what kinds of products do you live without when you can't afford it? thank you for welcoming me to the boards! jenna

[shimmer728]

I usually go grocery shopping at a local discount grocer and/or the Super Wal-Mart. I buy:

Morningstar gardenburgers
Morningstar Chik nuggets or some other brand of fake chicken nugget
Cottage cheese
eggs
buns
bagels
cereal bars of some sort
Oreos or some other cookie
frozen waffles
frozen French toast

Those are the basics. The Morningstar shit is often expensive, but it is cheaper at Wal-Mart.

[lilyflower]

hi im back again! hey i have another question....it's kinda dumb but i wanted to get everyone's opinions and ideas on it......what do you usually get when you go grocery shopping? im making a list of stuff we need and im going tomorrow cause i have the day off, but i dont want to spend too much. ive heard of online groceries....are they really better, cheaper, or the same? what kinds of products do you live without when you can't afford it? thank you for welcoming me to the boards! jenna

Warning: I tend not to eat "normal" food
- Kashi TLC Ranch Crackers
- Pretzels
- Some type of Crystal light drink mix (I've replaced the gallons of soda I used to drink)
- Fresh fruit
- Boneless skinless chicken breast
- Hamburger
- Bagels
- Hard rolls
- Vodka sauce
- Gnocchi, tortellini and about nine other types of frozen and boxed pasta
- Baby carrots
- Pickles
- Light ice cream

Online usually costs more - go to the store and buy generic :)

[wordsmith]

The staples for me are milk, bread, eggs, whatever lunch fixings, which usually include a sandwich filler of some kind in addition to the bread, and some produce...fresh veggies and fruit. Also frozen vegetables, which I eat with dinner a lot. Coffee, if it needs replenishing, and oatmeal, which I sometimes even manage to force myself to fix and eat in the a.m. Cheeses, if I'm out, quick fix things like whole wheat pastas, rice, and add-ins, which I keep stocked up on for fast meals.

Other stuff is on a case by case basis depending on what I plan to make and if I have certain ingredients on hand or am out of something. But the above are things I try to make sure I have on hand.

[pisces2473]

The Quarterlifer's Companion has a whole section on what staples are good to have on hand. :)

[wordsmith]

Hah! Plug, plug!

[cornflakegirl]

Warning: I tend not to eat "normal" food
- Kashi TLC Ranch Crackers
- Pretzels
- Some type of Crystal light drink mix (I've replaced the gallons of soda I used to drink)
- Fresh fruit
- Boneless skinless chicken breast
- Hamburger
- Bagels
- Hard rolls
- Vodka sauce
- Gnocchi, tortellini and about nine other types of frozen and boxed pasta
- Baby carrots
- Pickles
- Light ice cream

Online usually costs more - go to the store and buy generic :)

your food list isn't abnormal. i think i could come up with a stranger one, being a vegetarian, sometime vegan. at work, everyone is always peering over my shoulder asking me what weird thing i brought in.

[lilyflower]

your food list isn't abnormal. i think i could come up with a stranger one, being a vegetarian, sometime vegan. at work, everyone is always peering over my shoulder asking me what weird thing i brought in.

Actually the list looks pretty normal, until you realize that I've been known to make dinner out of pretzels and pickles. :lol:

[cornflakegirl]

Actually the list looks pretty normal, until you realize that I've been known to make dinner out of pretzels and pickles. :lol:

sounds interesting, to say the least. any other ingredients? do you put the pickles on the pretzels?

[lilyflower]

sounds interesting, to say the least. any other ingredients? do you put the pickles on the pretzels?

Eat a handful of pretzels, eat a pickle. Have some more pretzels, maybe another pickle. Repeat until full :) I think I'm too lazy to cook.

[cornflakegirl]

i have evenings of chips & salsa or a bowl of cereal when i feel lazy, which is often.

[week2week]

I usually buy the same things unfortunately...for the most part

cereal breakfast bars bananas 1.5% fat milk 2 loaves of wheat bread chicken
ostrich steaks pasta canned pasta raviolis falafel raisins oatmeal canned fruit
apricots peaches apples oranges bottled water tonic & soda maybe some fish...swordfish or salmon only dried apricots prunes dried figs mango plums pretzels lots of yogurt peanuts cans of iced tea Red Bull canned veggies tomatoes lettuce onions green, red, yellow bell peppers rice feta cheese eggs

[k.monster]

i have evenings of chips & salsa or a bowl of cereal when i feel lazy, which is often.

Yumm ... chips and salsa is the best!!!

When I go to the store I generally buy lunch meat (always turkey), frozen vegies, corn tortillas, beans, cheese, bread, yogurt, stuff for pasta dinners, ramen (I love that stuff), kim chi (goes awesome in the ramen), fresh vegis. Humus and pita bread

[paiger81]

The first rule of being able to eat on a budget is it’s not budget friendly unless you have all the staples to begin with. By the time I realized that I was so broke I could barely afford food, I already had the following key ingredients on hand:

§ Olive oil
§ Flaxseed oil
§ Pam cooking spray
§ Salt
§ Pepper
§ Cinnamon
§ Assorted dried herbs
§ Honey
§ Barbeque rub & sauce
§ Powdered milk

I then supplemented my staples with the following groceries (not necessarily ever week, just as needed).
§ Dried black beans or mixed beans
§ Split peas
§ Brown rice
§ Dozen eggs
§ Whole wheat bread
§ Tofu and/or TVP (it’s $1.99/lb at Whole Foods, but a ¼ cup is $.14!)
§ Tomatoes (canned or fresh, depending on price)
§ Bananas
§ Apples
§ Oranges
§ Baby carrots (usually organic if they're on sale)
§ Bouillon cubes (chicken or veggie)
§ Tilapia or salmon (when on sale)
§ Frozen veggies (huge bag of Broccoli Normandy usually does the trick)
§ 5-minute oatmeal (store brand)
§ Powdered milk (don’t say “eww” just yet! It’s not any different than skim!)
§ Raisins
§ Sweet potatoes
§ Zucchini